MSU vs. Duke in national semi final basketball game

Locally, life comes to a halt at 6:09 p.m. today, when Michigan State – the only team to reach this year’s final four without being seeded first in its region – faces Duke. At about 8:40, Wisconsin faces Kentucky, with the winners colliding Monday for the championship.

This follow-up to the cable hit “The Bible” starts with Jesus on trial. This first episode has brutal crucifixion scenes, followed by the opening of the giant tomb door and by the Romans’ aftershocks.

WEEKEND’S ALTERNATIVES:

•“Mad Men” return, 10 p.m. Sunday, AMC. A TV classic is back for a seven-week burst to end its run. This opener has some surprises – a big job shift for one character – but mostly stays in the quietly classy “Mad Men” style. A dour Don Draper nears his second divorce and envisions an old lover.

•“Sinatra: All or Nothing at All,” 8-10 p.m. Sunday, HBO, concludes Monday. Beyond Frank Sinatra’s image, Bruce Springsteen says, was a “deep blueness” in his voice. He knew the blues life. His dad protected bootleggers, then (as “Monty O’Brien”) opened a bar; his mom was a devout Catholic who did abortions. This superb documentary uses Sinatra’s music as the soundrack of a compelling life.

ALSO TODAY:

•“In an Instant,” 9-11 p.m., ABC. We meet an Iowa man who survived burial in a grain silo.

•“Outlander” season-opener, 9 p.m., Starz, repeating at 10:05 and 11:10. If you missed the first season, you can catch it from 1-9 p.m. In the 1940s, an English nurse inadvertently time-travels to 18th-century Scotland; she gets legal proection by marrying a handsome tribal warrior, Now she’s been kidnapped and her husband tries a daring rescue. Old values (men at war) and new ones (female equality) collide.

ALSO SUNDAY:

•“Wolf Hall” debut, 10 p.m., PBS. History has been shaped by people behind the thrones, whispering into rulers’ ears. A master was Thomas Cromwell, a blacksmith’s son who tried to juggle Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Cardinal Wolsey. He’s depicted as sly and stoic; in the first hours, star Mark Rylance rarely emotes. Gradually, however, this six-hour tale becomes involving.

•“American Odyssey,” 10 p.m., NBC. Sprawling across the globe, this hour juggles three stories: A soldier (Anna Friel) becomes encased in epic events ... a lawyer is suspicious of the corporation he works for ... an activist gets jolting information. It will tie together, but needs an hour to engage us.

•“Battle Creek,” 10 p.m., CBS. This is a particularly good episode, starting at Battle Creek’s annual breakfast festival. It’s part of a wildly overcrowded hour; fortunately, two others – Lifetime’s “Lizzie Borden” and WGN’s “Salem” -- rerun at 11 p.m. and then at 10 p.m. Monday.